Your credit union’s website life expectancy

The average life expectancy of a human being is 71 years. The average age of a vehicle on the road is 11 years. Your website has a lifespan too. And it’s shorter than you think. Companies with well-known brands typically overhaul or replace their websites every two years. Major news networks change their sites as often as every 12-18 months. While you may not have the budget or the bandwidth for this kind of change, you should take stock of the age and effectiveness of your website and consider it’s impact on your bottom line.

Here are some things to consider:

• Is your website optimized for mobile devices? In the past, having a website look good on mobile devices was a bonus. Now it’s a necessity. The percentage of users who prefer using a mobile device over a desktop computer grows every day. (As much as 50% for many of our CU clients.) And it’s not enough to simply have your site display on a mobile device. Your site should be mobile responsive, specifically designed to create the optimal user experience on every device. Google agrees. Beginning April 21, 2015, Google will rank mobile responsive sites higher than non-mobile-friendly sites.
• Is your website easily updatable? Keeping your website content fresh and up-to-date is important for several reasons: 1) it makes the site more useful for your members, 2) it sends a message to prospective members that you are committed to progress and staying relevant, and 3) it helps your SEO efforts. But keeping your content up-to-date can be difficult (and costly) if you’re at the mercy of a 3rd party site administrator, or worse, attempting to edit the code yourself every time you need to make a change. Next time, have your website built in a content management system such as MODX, WordPress, or Joomla and make sure that several of your employees are well-trained on how to update as much of your content as possible.
• Does your website reflect your brand? Credit union brands evolve. Who you are today is not who you were ten years ago. You may have expanded your field of membership. You may have gone through a rename. Your member demographics may have shifted. Your products and services may have changed. Who you are now matters to your members and it matters A LOT to prospective members. Be sure your website effectively conveys who you are right now.

Nothing lasts forever. Just as your brick-and-mortar locations need updates and repairs from time to time, so does your online branch. It’s essential to consistently review the state of your website and ensure that it remains a contender in the marketplace.